The Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef is alive and well at the 68th Grammy Awards, thanks to show host Trevor Noah.
Noah hilariously roasted Lamar, who leads the pack with nine Grammy nominations, early in the awards show, reminding the rapper about the feud with Canadian rapper Drake that dominated 2025. Lamar was the undisputed champion of the Drake battle, ending the beef with a final swipe during the Super Bowl halftime show.
“I thought about writing a few jokes, roasting you,” the South African-born Noah said to the seated and smiling Lamar. “But then I remembered what you can do to light-skinned dudes from other countries. Yeah, my delegation and I are still recovering from the pain. So I’m just saying congratulations.”
Noah then went on to say that hip-hop beefs have “gone to a new level,” pointing to the pointed Lamar-Drake feud and the hard-hitting 50 Cent documentary on Diddy in December.
“Like rappers are doing full-on detective work on your life. You beef with Kendrick, and he’s investigating you and your crew,” said Noah. “You beef with 50 Cent, and he’ll make a full-part documentary exposing what a violent creep you’ve been your whole life. Things have changed.
“It was so much simpler when all you had to worry about was being shot,” Noah added. “Now, they’ll hurt your feelings.”
Lamar’s feelings weren’t too hurt: The rapper immediately accepted the award for best rap album, making history as the most-winning rapper in Grammys history, dethroning Jay-Z.
“I’m not good at talking about myself, I express it through the music,” Lamar said from the stage. “But it’s an honor to be here with [these artists], these are my brothers. Every time I tell you this, hip-hop is always gonna be right here, we’re gonna be in these suits and looking good. God is the glory.”
